Beyond Access: Institutional Drivers of Equitable Energy Distribution and Low-Carbon Inclusive Growth in Sub-Saharan African countries

Data Summary / Study Description
This dataset supports the study titled “Beyond Access: Institutional Drivers of Equitable Energy Distribution and Low-Carbon Inclusive Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.” The data are compiled to examine how institutional quality shapes the relationship between energy distribution, carbon intensity, and inclusive growth outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The dataset consists of an unbalanced panel of 46 Sub-Saharan African countries observed annually from 2000 to 2023. It integrates indicators on energy distribution, institutional quality, economic performance, and environmental sustainability to analyze low-carbon inclusive growth dynamics. The dataset was constructed from internationally recognized secondary sources, including the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, Worldwide Governance Indicators, and global energy databases.
The primary outcome variable captures low-carbon inclusive growth, reflecting the joint performance of socioeconomic inclusion and environmental sustainability. Key explanatory variables include equitable energy distribution, institutional quality, and their interaction terms. Institutional quality is measured using a composite governance index capturing dimensions such as government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption.
The dataset also includes macroeconomic and structural control variables commonly used in development and energy economics, such as GDP per capita, population growth, trade openness, and energy mix indicators. All variables are defined consistently across countries and years, with transformations (e.g., logarithms) applied where appropriate to improve comparability and econometric performance.
The data are organized in country–year format and were analyzed using System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) to address endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, and dynamic persistence. This dataset enables replication of baseline, mediation, and moderation analyses assessing the institutional channels and trade-offs involved in expanding energy access while pursuing low-carbon inclusive development in SSA.